AP: In DC, even the Spelling Bee draws protesters

[RedlightG20]

In DC, even the Spelling Bee draws protesters

WASHINGTON – The nation's capital always draws its share of protesters, picketing for causes ranging from health care reform to immigration policy.

But spelling bee protesters? They're out here, too.

Four peaceful protesters, some dressed in full-length black and yellow bee costumes, represented the American Literacy Council and the London-based Spelling Society and stood outside the Grand Hyatt on Thursday, where the Scripps National Spelling Bee is being held. Their message was short: Simplify the way we spell words.

Roberta Mahoney, 81, a former Fairfax County, Va. elementary school principal, said the current language obstructs 40 percent of the population from learning how to read, write and spell.

"Our alphabet has 425-plus ways of putting words together in illogical ways," Mahoney said.

The protesting cohort distributed pins to willing passers-by with their logo, "Enuf is enuf. Enough is too much."

According to literature distributed by the group, it makes more sense for "fruit" to be spelled as "froot," "slow" should be "slo," and "heifer" — a word spelled correctly during the first oral round of the bee Thursday by Texas competitor Ramesh Ghanta — should be "hefer."

Meanwhile, inside the hotel's Independence Ballroom, 273 spellers celebrated the complexity of the language in all its glory, correctly spelling words like zaibatsu, vibrissae and biauriculate.

While the protesters could make headway with cell phone texters who routinely swap "u" for "you" and "gr8" for "great," their message may be a harder sell for the Scripps crowd.

Mahoney had trouble gaining traction with at least one bee attendee. New Mexico resident Matthew Evans, 15, a former speller whose sister is participating in the bee this year, reasoned with her that if English spellings were changed, spelling bees would cease to exist.

"If a dictionary lists 'enough' as 'enuf,' the spelling bee goes by the dictionary, therefore all the spelling words are easier to spell, so the spelling bee is gone," Evans said.

"Well," Mahoney replied, "they could pick their own dictionary."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100603/ap_on_re_us/us_spelling_bee_protest

[DCSaints_fan]

How we got so many different pronunciations of 'ough', none of which have a 'gh' sound, I'l never understand.

[ixcuincle]

Dumb idea to simplify the spelling bee. I have never been a fan of kids trying to spell words no one uses anymore, but these protests are ridiculous.

[frostyj]

G this sounds like ebonics for spelling plane english. Shur hope it never ganes trackshun.

[Burgundy Burner]

G this sounds like ebonics for spelling plane english. Shur hope it never ganes trackshun.

here is a pikshur ov ms. mahoney on wun ov her mishuns. a googul serch shows she is a hevee contributer to the democrat partee. shee is the wun holding the cards.

[MattFancy]

hooked on fonics werked for mee

[Henry]

Some people just aren't happy unless they are unhappy.

[Destino]

I agree with them. The English language makes no sense in how it is written.

[Bang]

No language makes sense how it's written. The other romantic languages have three words for "the" and a different word for almost everything depending on the gender of the word or what it's describing. Chinese is ridiculously difficult, both versions of it, and the dialects change so much that a person from a town 25 miles away may speak in a language you can't even understand.

And what do you know, people have been learning them all and spelling them all for centuries.

What a waste of time

~Bang

[Hail_Skins]

here is a pikshur ov ms. mahoney on wun ov her mishuns. a googul serch shows she is a hevee contributer to the democrat partee. shee is the wun holding the cards.

It took me four times as long to read what you wrote. Genius idea!

Maybe we should start a Texting Movement, and fight for the IMOs, WTFs, LOLs!

[Rudechain]

pretty petty reason for a protest. As Bang said, all languages have complications, and the idea is to learn that language and it's complexities. It sounds to me like this individual does not believe in challenging kids to better themselves.

[herrmag]

No language makes sense how it's written. The other romantic languages have three words for "the" and a different word for almost everything depending on the gender of the word or what it's describing. Chinese is ridiculously difficult, both versions of it, and the dialects change so much that a person from a town 25 miles away may speak in a language you can't even understand.

And what do you know, people have been learning them all and spelling them all for centuries.

What a waste of time

~Bang

We must accommodate the lowest common denominator. It's how civilizations advance. If it's hard, just make it easier.

[frostyj]

here is a pikshur ov ms. mahoney on wun ov her mishuns. a googul serch shows she is a hevee contributer to the democrat partee. shee is the wun holding the cards.

That actually hurt to read.

Tihs is mcuh esaeir.

"From Cambridge University .

O lny srmat poelpe can raed tihs.

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, t he olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rgh it pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs psas it on !!"

[China]

One of the protesters:

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

Some people just aren't happy unless they are unhappy.

I like that saying because I hate it.